Chapter 376 - 346: Arrival at Last

Chapter 376: Chapter 346: Arrival at Last

Amidst endless mountains and gorges, a great river surged. Even from a great distance, one could faintly hear the roar of its rushing waters.

The Water Vein originated from the Southwest Plateau, traversed Great Chu from west to east, and flowed into the Vast Sea.

Looking down from the heavens, one could only make out a faint outline of the great river’s network.

The great river coiled around towering mountains. Its surface was so wide that even looking down from the heavens, one could not see its end.

"The Ten-Thousand-Li Chu River..."

Aboard the Flying Boat, Chu Mu looked down at the mountains and the great river and let out a long sigh.

He had often heard the legend of the Ten-Thousand-Li Chu River in the Cultivation Immortal Realm. Seeing it today, he knew it truly lived up to its reputation.

The great river cut across Great Chu from west to east. Considering Great Chu’s immense size, the river’s length was likely incalculable. And its width, from what he could see, truly did stretch for ten thousand li without any exaggeration.

The Flying Boat advanced slowly, and the great river winding through the mountains came into sharper focus.

’Ten thousand li wide... How incredibly vast!’

Chu Mu stared blankly at the vast, sprawling river. Even for someone as experienced and well-traveled as him, the sight before his eyes was indescribably stunning.

BOOM!

Suddenly, with a deafening roar, the river churned. A curtain of spray exploded into the air, and the countless droplets unexpectedly transformed into a dense barrage of Water Arrows that shot toward the Flying Boat.

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow. He focused his gaze and saw that as the Water Arrows rained down, a massive, dark silhouette on the vast river’s surface was charging menacingly toward his Flying Boat.

’A fish?’

Chu Mu wore an odd expression. It really did seem to be a fish, except this one was enormous. It had a body tens of meters long and a ferocious aura approaching Tier Two, which it made no effort to conceal.

’Is it treating me as prey?’

With a wave from Chu Mu, Wangcai, who had already been standing menacingly at his side, let out a roar and pounced on the giant fish.

’A Tier Two Demon Beast, here of all places...’

Chu Mu watched, slightly puzzled, as Wangcai viciously mauled the Giant Fish Demon Beast.

The Chu River cut across the land from west to east, was ten thousand li wide, and emptied into the Vast Sea, so the presence of Demon Beasts was inevitable. But the river was, after all, within Da Chu’s hinterland. How could they tolerate a Demon Beast growing to Tier Two?

After all, Demon Beasts craved flesh and blood. With the Chu River running entirely through Da Chu’s hinterland, the presence of such a creature would inevitably lead to attacks on the mortals and even Cultivators along its banks.

In a situation just like the one he was facing, an ordinary Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivator who encountered a Tier Two Demon Beast would find their life hanging by a thread.

Puzzled, he couldn’t help but become more alert.

Meanwhile, the battle on the river’s surface was already nearing its end after just a dozen breaths.

For Wangcai, a Tier Two Middle Stage beast with an extraordinary Vajra Wolf Bloodline and a suit of Armor that was practically a Top Grade Spiritual Artifact, dealing with a Tier Two Early Stage Demon Beast was clearly an easy task.

The giant fish’s massive body was already torn to shreds. Wangcai devoured it chunk by chunk, and within moments, the Giant Fish Demon Beast let out a final, mournful cry and perished completely.

Wangcai continued to devour the carcass ravenously. Despite its unassuming size, it shockingly managed to consume the entire Demon Beast’s body.

THUD!

Wangcai leaped onto the Flying Boat, its surging Power creating a dull thud as it landed.

"Easy there! You’re going to tear this Flying Boat apart!"

Chu Mu chided it in annoyance. Wangcai bounded over, wagging its tail, and opened its massive jaws to spit out a Round Pearl about the size of a fingernail.

"So you do have a conscience after all!"

Chu Mu chuckled. With a beckoning motion of his hand, the Round Pearl floated into his palm. It was a pale blue, and a faint Water Attribute Spiritual Qi swirled around it.

This Round Pearl was clearly the Demon Pill of the Giant Fish Demon Beast.

Chu Mu observed the Demon Pill with great interest. He was already familiar with them, having spent a great deal of time studying the one inside Wangcai’s body.

But this was the first time he had seen a Demon Pill from a thoroughly vanquished beast, as such things were unheard of in Great Chu, a land where Demon Beasts had been all but wiped out.

’A Tier Two Demon Pill. Not a bad start.’

He examined it for a moment before flipping his hand over to put the Demon Pill away, muttering to himself as he did.

The Flying Boat continued onward. Perhaps the earlier encounter had truly been an isolated incident, as they crossed the rest of the ten-thousand-li Chu River without any further trouble.

After several days of cautious but peaceful travel, the end of the seemingly boundless river finally came into view.

On the opposite bank, the lands of the Southern Border were now visible.

’The Spiritual Qi... it really is much denser here.’

Chu Mu mused on this. In the Great Chu Inland, all Spirit Vein Lands were occupied by various factions, leaving very few unclaimed.

As a result, the Spiritual Qi in the Great Chu Inland was undeniably thin.

While the same was true for the Southern Border, beyond its Sea Border lay the Endless Vast Sea, a place teeming with Demon Beasts.

Although Demon Beasts instinctively built their lairs on Spirit Vein Lands, it was clear that before gaining Spiritual Wisdom, they were incapable of sealing a Spirit Vein to prevent its Spiritual Qi from leaking.

Thus, he had long heard stories in the Cultivation Immortal Realm about the dense Spiritual Qi of the Vast Sea Land.

With a swipe of his hand, a Jade Scroll appeared in his grasp. It contained a map and information he had gathered about the Cultivation Immortal Realm in the Southern Border.

’Celestial River County...’

Chu Mu briefly matched his surroundings to the terrain on the map, his Divine Sense locking onto a point near its center.

South of the Chu River was the Southern Border, also known in the Cultivation Immortal Realm as the Vast Sea Land... territory of the Vast Sea Chen Family!

Celestial River County bordered the Chu River. Given the immensity of the Southern Border, this region was, strictly speaking, still considered its inland territory.

’A thousand li to the southwest... Celestial River Marketplace...’

Chu Mu gazed into the distance. With a flicker of intent, the Flying Boat slowly changed direction to follow the river.

At the speed of the Flying Boat, and with less need for caution now that he was over land, the thousand-li journey was a short one. Just as the sun began to set, the Celestial River Marketplace came into Chu Mu’s view.

The Marketplace stood in isolation by the river. Viewed from the sky, it looked just like a mortal town; if not for the faint, swirling Array Prohibition, it would be difficult to identify it as a Cultivation Immortal Marketplace.

’Something’s not right...’

Chu Mu looked around, a hint of confusion on his face.

Even though he was following the river, from his vantage point in the sky, his unaided eyes should have been able to see for hundreds of li in every direction.

And yet...

He had just crossed a thousand li. If this were the Great Chu Inland, the land would be covered in sprawling mortal settlements. But here, he couldn’t see a single trace of human life...

Lush mountains and clear waters, yet utterly devoid of people...

He glanced at the vast Chu River beside him, his eyes flickering as a guess formed in his mind. With a thought, he had the Flying Boat descend.

As Chu Mu led Wangcai in leaping down, his face and figure changed dramatically. In the blink of an eye, he had taken on a completely unfamiliar appearance.

Even Wangcai’s Silver-White Battle Armor seemed to trigger some kind of Restriction. It warped and twisted, and within a few breaths, Wangcai’s appearance had also changed completely...

...